The prior art discloses a variety of tents which are used as outdoor shelters particularly in areas where hiking and camping are common sports. The designs of these tents run the gamut and may include designs where the membrane and poles are made of heavy duty materials which are quite heavy and cumbersome to transport and store and which are usually carried from one place to the next in a vehicle. Many prior art tents also include lightweight materials which are not at all suitable for inclement conditions and which may simply be used purely for casual recreational purposes and not at all by the serious camper and/or hiker.
A substantial number of the current tent structures makes use of a strong membrane which is suspended from a number of flexible support poles or rods which form the frame or support structure for the tent. This is true of the tents which are designed to be carried by a single individual as a backpack. Regardless of the design of the prior art tents, particularly back-packing tents, known to applicant or disclosed in the prior art which will be subsequently discussed, all previous tent structures which make use of a membrane and any supporting structure (poles, rods, etc.) requires for storage that the membrane and the poles and other support structure be completely disassembled and separately stored. This can obviously become cumbersome and awkward and result in an increased load where the entire tent structure must be carried as a back-pack and by one individual. Also, having the tent structure completely disassembled during storage would require significantly more time to re-assemble the tent and would usually require more than one person to assemble the structure for use.
A representation of the state of the relevant art in tent manufacturing is disclosed in a number of U.S. and foreign patents, non of which teaches or even suggests a tent structure either similar to applicant's structure or one which would make applicant's structure obvious to one skilled in the art. In fact, nearly all of the prior art structures all require a complete disassembly of the membrane from the pole support structure for storage.
For example, U.S. Pa. No. 4,706,696 to Gillis teaches an orbit-type tent structure in which the tent membrane is kept under tension by at least two sets of stress poles. When the tent is disassembled for storage, the poles and other support elements for the structure are held together in their proper relationship by means of an elastic cord. Even if the pole assembly of the '696 patent does in some way remain attached to the tent membrane during disassembly and storage, the '696 patent does not disclose a structure which may be as conveniently and as quickly assembled as does applicant's invention as will be described herein. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,414,993 and 4,265,260, both to Gills, related to a flexible vault structure which has a plurality of stressed poles form which a membrane is suspended with various means of attaching the membrane to the poles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,996 to Keable, et al. discloses a portable camper-type structure which may be elevated when assembled for use. The structure makes use of a plurality of O-rings which are slidably mounted by various tubular members which form a part of the structure's foundation. Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,099,533 and 3,986,519 issued to Gillis and each discloses a flexible tent structure with at least tow series of rows of poles (all poles in a row being substantially parallel to each other) with the rows of poles intersecting the other rows of poles and with the poles being stabilized at the points of intersection by fittings, such as rings which permit the poles to slide relative to each other within a limited degree. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,397 to Oberhaus discloses a dome-like tent structure with a foldable support frame which includes stays and a clamping device and which supports a cloth covering when erected and assembled for use. U.S. Pat. No. 2,543,684 to Blanchard discloses a relatively lightweight tent, particularly useful to explorers, which tent may be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled and requires no guy ropes or tent pins. German Patent No. 3,213,781 which appears o be one counterpart of Canadian Patent No. 1,166,926 and directed to the same invention issued to Kramer, and discloses a tent structure which comprises a plurality of elongated flexible and intersecting rods from which a membrane is suspended by means of a plurality of hooks affixed to the membrane at preselected locations. The hooks are affixed to the membrane and are designed to be removably affixed to flexible rods at various points of intersection of the rods.